Today is the Feast of the Ascension which marks a significant time of transition in the early church. It was a time of letting go of Jesus’ physical presence, he ascended or returned to the Father, and yet also experiencing Jesus in a whole new way. It was the beginning of the church itself, the people of God taking the initiative, taking the lead in being witnesses to all the ends of the earth. Today, we the Church, celebrate Christ’s Ascension by carrying on the mission of the first disciples, by witnessing our faith to the ends of the earth.
The readings affirm this call to carry on the mission of Jesus. In the first reading the disciples witness Jesus being lifted up into heaven and they are mesmerized, they are standing there staring into the clouds. Then suddenly two men in white garments stand beside them and ask, “why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return.” The way Jesus returns is the gift of the Holy Spirit that prompts us to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. I
thought of this passage Friday as many people gathered around St. John’s looking to the sky as the bells were being removed and safely lowered to the ground.
In the second reading, St. Paul shares a beautiful image and prayer for those who continue the mission of the Lord Jesus here on earth, those who witness the good news. He says, “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe.” Those words speak powerfully even as our St. John and Marion community suffer a great tragedy. Indeed, even in the midst of devastation, the eyes of our hearts are enlightened, because we know the hope and promise of our call, our faith, that all things are made new; that we can trust in the riches of glory in his inheritance, followers of Christ who have also been blessed by the riches of faith our ancestors have passed on to us in St. John’s church and the surpassing power and possibilities that come for us who believe. Then in the gospel Jesus again reminds us that we are witnesses sent in the name of the church to be his presence, his hands and feet in the world.
I shared some initial comments about the St. John Church fire at Mass Friday morning with Archbishop Casey and they were shared on flocknote and other media outlets, but there have been some updates and when it comes to big things in our lives repetition can also help. I arrived at St. John’s Thursday about 2:45 pm with the church roof almost fully engulfed in flames and smoke. The first call to the fire department went out at 2:31 which means the fire spread quickly. Chickasaw, Minster, New Bremen and as many as 20 fire departments quickly responded with Chief Joe Hartings coordinating the efforts. We are grateful for all the first responders who came to help. Our Marion and Christ Our Light staff and parishioners quickly jumped in contacting the Archdiocese and beginning to plan for where celebrate Mass, the prayer service Thursday night, Mass with Archbishop Casey Friday morning and how to keep our St. John faith community nourished and strengthened by the sacraments. One of the first calls I received was from Archbishop Casey assuring us of his prayers and support, Archbishop Schnurr called on Friday and their calls were followed by many others from the Archdiocese, including risk management, property management, finance, liturgy and media relations all helping us deal with the fire at hand and all the follow up to come. By late afternoon Thursday the state fire marshal was onsite, insurance representatives and by evening First On Site, a company specializing in church restoration after fires and other kinds of tragic events. A team from the Archdiocese was with us at Mass Friday morning, who along with the fire department, insurance agents, structural engineers and restoration specialists met Friday morning to better assess the damage, what may be salvaged and where we go from here.
As many of you have probably seen, the roof is completely gone with the remaining debris laying inside. The fire department sprayed a lot of water on the entire church including the steeple and spire above, but could not get inside to spray the smoldering embers under the slate. A little after 7 PM Thursday the spire tilted toward the south and came crashing down in front of the church. Uncertain of the integrity of the remaining walls, it was not safe for fire personnel to enter, although drones provided some images of the St. Joseph statute, the stations and walls, the cross on the back of church and parts of the organ and choir loft. The three bells had fallen within the steeple, and were precariously nestled in debris. Friday afternoon and evening, crane operators and trades people were onsite working out of a basket suspended over the steeple to retrieve the bells. As they worked on our behalf, they also noticed and were deeply touched by the faith they witnessed in the firefighters standing on guard and the many parishioners and others who gathered below to watch the high wire spectacle of skill and precision retrieving all three bells. As the larger two bells, weighing over 8,000 pounds, were lifted from the steeple, their hearts of the crane operators and trades people were lifted by the cheers of the firefighters and a crowd gathered below. They knew they were part of something much larger than retrieving bells buried in charred timbers, soot and ashes.
While the damage is severe, the restoration specialists were also hopeful that more could be salvaged than what appears. They are also hopeful that with the way the church roof collapsed inside and the spire tilted south, the integrity of the walls may not have been compromised. The key to salvage and restoration is to act quickly. First One Site began arriving Thursday night about 9 PM, overnight they set up fencing to secure the area and structural engineers were assessing the walls Friday morning. They are waiting for a final clearance that all is safe, and then they will be moving in to salvage and clean what they can. While I know many would like to help in the church, we need to let the salvage and restoration specialists do their work. They know what to look for, how best to get at it and preserve it. A few parishioners familiar with things in church and where they were located will be helping. It will be a long and difficult process, but I am also convinced that nothing is impossible with God and we have the right people in place to help us assess the damage, discern what we need to do and to put that into action.
I must admit my heart sank as I drove up to St. John Thursday afternoon and as the spire fell to the ground, but my heart has been enlightened seeing many signs of hope with all who have come to our help, learning what may be salvaged from the church and the beginning of steps to rebuild. There was a flare up late Friday night in the sacristy and the fire department had to re-enter to put out the embers. While inside they were able to retrieve a number of the sacred vessels, many of them still intact and able to be used for generations to come.
The rectory sustained some minor damage, including smoke and the power had to be turned off due to flooding in the basement. Fr. Matt & Fr. Alt have moved to St. Augustine in Minster temporarily as the restoration specialist hope to have things cleaned and repaired within 2 to 3 weeks.
During the St. John Church painting process, Masses were moved to Precious Blood and that seemed to work okay. So we are planning for Masses to be held at Precious Blood. This first weekend Precious Blood will have Mass at 5 PM, 9 AM and 10:30 AM, but we may need to adjust the schedule to deal with traffic flow between Masses. Staff have also set up the basement for overflow as we have grown over the years and may need more space. It may also be a bit more complicated this first weekend with the Chickasaw picnic, but also trust it will work out.
We have been receiving calls and emails from people across the country, and even internationally, offering prayers and support. In a way we are reaching out to the ends of the earth as the ends of the earth reach out to help us. And as Archbishop Casey said, that makes us church.
– Fr. Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S., Christ Our Light Family of Parishes
thought of this passage Friday as many people gathered around St. John’s looking to the sky as the bells were being removed and safely lowered to the ground.
In the second reading, St. Paul shares a beautiful image and prayer for those who continue the mission of the Lord Jesus here on earth, those who witness the good news. He says, “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe.” Those words speak powerfully even as our St. John and Marion community suffer a great tragedy. Indeed, even in the midst of devastation, the eyes of our hearts are enlightened, because we know the hope and promise of our call, our faith, that all things are made new; that we can trust in the riches of glory in his inheritance, followers of Christ who have also been blessed by the riches of faith our ancestors have passed on to us in St. John’s church and the surpassing power and possibilities that come for us who believe. Then in the gospel Jesus again reminds us that we are witnesses sent in the name of the church to be his presence, his hands and feet in the world.
I shared some initial comments about the St. John Church fire at Mass Friday morning with Archbishop Casey and they were shared on flocknote and other media outlets, but there have been some updates and when it comes to big things in our lives repetition can also help. I arrived at St. John’s Thursday about 2:45 pm with the church roof almost fully engulfed in flames and smoke. The first call to the fire department went out at 2:31 which means the fire spread quickly. Chickasaw, Minster, New Bremen and as many as 20 fire departments quickly responded with Chief Joe Hartings coordinating the efforts. We are grateful for all the first responders who came to help. Our Marion and Christ Our Light staff and parishioners quickly jumped in contacting the Archdiocese and beginning to plan for where celebrate Mass, the prayer service Thursday night, Mass with Archbishop Casey Friday morning and how to keep our St. John faith community nourished and strengthened by the sacraments. One of the first calls I received was from Archbishop Casey assuring us of his prayers and support, Archbishop Schnurr called on Friday and their calls were followed by many others from the Archdiocese, including risk management, property management, finance, liturgy and media relations all helping us deal with the fire at hand and all the follow up to come. By late afternoon Thursday the state fire marshal was onsite, insurance representatives and by evening First On Site, a company specializing in church restoration after fires and other kinds of tragic events. A team from the Archdiocese was with us at Mass Friday morning, who along with the fire department, insurance agents, structural engineers and restoration specialists met Friday morning to better assess the damage, what may be salvaged and where we go from here.
As many of you have probably seen, the roof is completely gone with the remaining debris laying inside. The fire department sprayed a lot of water on the entire church including the steeple and spire above, but could not get inside to spray the smoldering embers under the slate. A little after 7 PM Thursday the spire tilted toward the south and came crashing down in front of the church. Uncertain of the integrity of the remaining walls, it was not safe for fire personnel to enter, although drones provided some images of the St. Joseph statute, the stations and walls, the cross on the back of church and parts of the organ and choir loft. The three bells had fallen within the steeple, and were precariously nestled in debris. Friday afternoon and evening, crane operators and trades people were onsite working out of a basket suspended over the steeple to retrieve the bells. As they worked on our behalf, they also noticed and were deeply touched by the faith they witnessed in the firefighters standing on guard and the many parishioners and others who gathered below to watch the high wire spectacle of skill and precision retrieving all three bells. As the larger two bells, weighing over 8,000 pounds, were lifted from the steeple, their hearts of the crane operators and trades people were lifted by the cheers of the firefighters and a crowd gathered below. They knew they were part of something much larger than retrieving bells buried in charred timbers, soot and ashes.
While the damage is severe, the restoration specialists were also hopeful that more could be salvaged than what appears. They are also hopeful that with the way the church roof collapsed inside and the spire tilted south, the integrity of the walls may not have been compromised. The key to salvage and restoration is to act quickly. First One Site began arriving Thursday night about 9 PM, overnight they set up fencing to secure the area and structural engineers were assessing the walls Friday morning. They are waiting for a final clearance that all is safe, and then they will be moving in to salvage and clean what they can. While I know many would like to help in the church, we need to let the salvage and restoration specialists do their work. They know what to look for, how best to get at it and preserve it. A few parishioners familiar with things in church and where they were located will be helping. It will be a long and difficult process, but I am also convinced that nothing is impossible with God and we have the right people in place to help us assess the damage, discern what we need to do and to put that into action.
I must admit my heart sank as I drove up to St. John Thursday afternoon and as the spire fell to the ground, but my heart has been enlightened seeing many signs of hope with all who have come to our help, learning what may be salvaged from the church and the beginning of steps to rebuild. There was a flare up late Friday night in the sacristy and the fire department had to re-enter to put out the embers. While inside they were able to retrieve a number of the sacred vessels, many of them still intact and able to be used for generations to come.
The rectory sustained some minor damage, including smoke and the power had to be turned off due to flooding in the basement. Fr. Matt & Fr. Alt have moved to St. Augustine in Minster temporarily as the restoration specialist hope to have things cleaned and repaired within 2 to 3 weeks.
During the St. John Church painting process, Masses were moved to Precious Blood and that seemed to work okay. So we are planning for Masses to be held at Precious Blood. This first weekend Precious Blood will have Mass at 5 PM, 9 AM and 10:30 AM, but we may need to adjust the schedule to deal with traffic flow between Masses. Staff have also set up the basement for overflow as we have grown over the years and may need more space. It may also be a bit more complicated this first weekend with the Chickasaw picnic, but also trust it will work out.
We have been receiving calls and emails from people across the country, and even internationally, offering prayers and support. In a way we are reaching out to the ends of the earth as the ends of the earth reach out to help us. And as Archbishop Casey said, that makes us church.
– Fr. Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S., Christ Our Light Family of Parishes
RSS Feed